The male gaze on women

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Shombit Sengupta : Jan 27 2013, 03:09 IST

“Did a nude male model pose for students in your art class?” Piyul Mukherjee, my friend and reader, enquired. I had to admit in the negative. My mind’s eye went back to model Satish who’d stand on a pedestal wearing a pair of thin, loose shorts. Our Kolkata art college professor used to admonish him to adjust them properly so we could see nothing more. But women models were unclothed. I was explaining to Piyul that as an artist drawing a nude woman with all her curves and beauty was more interesting; men’s straight lines were no challenge. “That’s a male outlook. If women get a chance to draw a nude male, they may find different lines from a woman’s perspective.” Her observation was surely profound. This, too, is a man-driven decision that art schools draw female bodies. It’s never occurred to us to question why the male sex organ is a no-no. Male chauvinistic attitude in the art world tormented the incredibly great sculptress Camille Claudel I wrote about (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/asserting-creativity-breaking-barriers/1039138/0). She ended up in a mental asylum till her death in 1943.

Curiously though, Michaelangelo’s fantastic 5.17 metre (17 ft) David, the archetype of all sculpture, has been openly baring male genitalia since the 15th century in Florence, Italy. But ironically just next door, the Vatican is prudish. Various Catholic Church Popes across 450 years have battled against the Phallic symbol. Slowly, but surely, they’ve removed the genitals from valuable ancient Vatican statues in the name of preserving male modesty.

... contd.

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